What Is Reclaimed Water?
Reclaimed water is the product of an advanced treatment process which cleans wastewater. This treatment process produces water ideal for plant irrigation and other commercial/industrial uses. The nitrogen and phosphorous in the water provide excellent fertilizers for ornamental plants and turf grass.
Why Use Reclaimed Water?
In 2001, over 3.4 billion gallons of reclaimed water were delivered to customers, enough to supply more than 90,000 people for a year. Without the reclaimed system, groundwater would have been used to meet this demand. Currently, over eight percent of Tucson Water’s total demand for water is met with reclaimed water.
Who Uses Reclaimed Water?
The reclaimed water system began operation in 1984 with a golf course and the U of A Farms as the first customers. Today the system has over 600 customers, among them golf courses, schools, and 32 parks.
How Is Reclaimed Water Treated?
The reclaimed water treatment process begins at Pima County’s Roger Road Wastewater Treatment Facility. The County treats the wastewater to standards required by State and Federal agencies. After this level of treatment, some of this wastewater is piped into Tucson Water’s filtration plant for further cleansing. This water is filtered through pressure filters containing anthracite coal and sand and disinfected with chlorine. It is then stored in a reservoir until it is pumped through its own system of pipes, and reservoirs to customers throughout the Tucson region. The backwash water from the filtration plant is piped to the Sweetwater Wetlands where it is naturally treated before it is released to recharge basins.
Recharge and recovery is an important part of the reclaimed water system. Some of the water treated at the Roger Road Facility is piped to Tucson Water’s recharge basins where the earth acts as a natural filter as the water seeps into the ground. This filtered water is recovered through wells. The recovered water is piped to the chlorine contact chamber where it is chlorinated and mixed with the filtered water produced at the plant. This ensures that the reclaimed water delivered to customers meets the standards set by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.
Golf Facilities in the
Tucson Water Service Area
Maintained with Reclaimed Water:
- La Paloma
- El Rio
- Fred Enke
- Randolph North
- Gallery at Dove Mountain
- Heritage Highlands
- Del Urich (formerly Randolph South)
- Arizona National Golf Club
- Starr Pass
- Tucson Country Club
- Ventana Canyon
- Tucson Family Golf
- Skyline
- General Blanchard (Davis-Monthan Air Force Base)
How Much Reclaimed Water Do We Use?
Currently eight percent of Tucson Water’s total demand is met with reclaimed water. The reclaimed water system includes more than 100 miles of pipeline and five reservoirs with a combined storage capacity of 15 million gallons.
For more information call (520) 791-4331
City of Tucson TTY# (520) 791-2639
Si usted desea este documento escrito en español, por favor, llame al (520) 791-4331
